A New Report on Search Just in Time for Derby
May 1, 2013
It’s spring in Harrods Creek. The Kentucky Derby marks the beginning of a frenzy of gambling, partying, and social climbing. Spring is also brightened this year by a new report from a big daddy consulting firm. I hesitate to say “azure chip consultant” because so many big time consulting firms have run into a muddy track. Most consulting firms are moving to known methods of boosting revenue. One thing is certain: The marketing horse race is underway. Unlike the Kentucky Derby where the entrants are pretty similar, the horses in the search, content processing, and analytics race are marvelous hybrids. Even though the same words are used to describe some functions, most companies are shaped by their marketing, not their technologies. I think of vendors as having the same bloodline with only the jockeys and their silks differentiating the companies. I suppose that is why there are groupings which are confusing, at least to me.
The particular pair of news announcements in question illustrate this point:
- Attivio, “a visionary”. See http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/attivio-named-a-visionary-in-2013-gartner-magic-quadrant-for-enterprise-search-205246031.html
- Coveo, “a visionary”. See http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/coveo-recognized-as-a-visionary-in-gartner-2013-magic-quadrant-for-enterprise-search-1784721.htm
A number of other companies are sporting labels awarded by a big daddy consulting firm. I have not seen the “study”, which I hope is based on fact, not marketing. Frankly I am not sure if I understand how big daddy consulting firms conduct their business today in an Adwords world.
Do two firms with the same metatag suggests the type of hybridization of functionality I see?
I find this fascinating because it suggests a similarity between the firms. The firms’ respective Web pages position each company in a different manner: Attivio seems more closely allied to business intelligence via unified information access and Coveo seems more focused on point solutions such as customer support. I probably cannot see the track through the spectators. No surprise there. I am far, far from the burning center of big time consulting here in rural Harrods Creek.
I do know that both Attivio and Coveo and have ingested significant venture funding in the last 12 months. (See “Swinging for the Fences and Search.”) Not surprisingly, various promotional and marketing actioins are warranted, if not essential.
Executives at these firms need to differentiate themselves with new companies entering certain market sectors and capturing headlines. Firms in search, content processing, and analytics have to come up with buzz like upstarts who garner headlines in the influential Techcrunch. (See, for example, “Docurated Is An Enterprise Service To Search And Collect The Data You Need From Your Files.”)
Also firms which have been in business a while are interesting because the point at which organic growth kicks is and carries the companies to Endeca-type heights is a signal of the health of the search and content processing sector. What’s interesting to me is that Hewlett Packard has not been emphasizing “search” as a marketing hook for its high profile Autonomy operation.
I will monitor public news releases about companies which sport a very compelling metatag. I don’t think I will be alone in tracking the actions of these and other search “visionaries” which share a very upbeat metatag. Investors and stakeholders will be monitoring the firms as well. I hope I have contributed to the buzz as pesky outfits like SRCH2 and Docurated gallop through the datasphere.
Stephen E Arnold, May 1, 2013
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